


The Fourth Gem

by CartoonJessie



Series: The Five Gems [2]
Category: Once Upon A Time - Fandom, Once Upon a Time (TV), Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (TV)
Genre: AU, Agrabah (Disney), Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, F/M, Political Intrigue, Slow Burn, The Enchanted Forest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-01 14:01:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12706434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonJessie/pseuds/CartoonJessie
Summary: When Jafar becomes Agrabah’s new Vizier, he brings the news that war might be at hand, and the hope that he might be able to stop it. But for a dark wizard, it’s hard to earn everyone’s trust – especially that of young princess Jasmine, who senses the darkness within him. Working towards a common goal as they try to keep Agrabah safe and make allies with neighboring kingdoms, they learn to respect one another, and more…





	1. The First Three Weeks

**Author's Note:**

> This particular story is set in the same universe as one of my other fanfictions, "The Fifth Gem". 
> 
> While the Fifth Gem focussed on Rumplestiltskin and Belle, this story focuses on a very similar relationship... That of Jafar and Jasmine. 
> 
> If you have read The Fifth Gem, then you already know the lore behind that world.  
> If you haven't, then this would be the short introduction to that lore:  
> In this particular world, there are five magical gems that make the lands prosper and make it so that food grows even in the most desolate of places. For Agrabah, that gem is crucial to the kingdom's survival.  
> In the Fifth Gem, the story begins when the Fourth Gem gets stolen - the gem of Agrabah - and Belle tries to figure out a way to protect the Fifth Gem - the gem of the Empire - from being stolen as well by Queen Regina, who already has the other gems in her grasp.  
> In this story, we see the moments leading up to that theft - and much more that goes on in-between and even after that. 
> 
> It's a story of trust, friendship and love - with a fair amount of political intrigue and magic. I do hope you will enjoy this as much as I do writing it.

When princess Jasmine was sixteen years old, she saw Jafar for the first time.

They did not really meet, for she was hiding behind one of the pillars in the palace, listening in on one of her father’s audiences. That day, she had heard many pleas of merchants and farmers for money or land or sometimes both, and guards had given their reports on criminal activities in the city. Her father wasn’t very talkative at all, and Jasmine doubted he really ever paid attention at all. Instead, her father’s vizier, an old, wise man named Hiran, had spoken to the people – but he had rather annoyed princess Jasmine. It was clear that the man only wanted to politely shut people up, and there was no true intent to give the people what they asked for – or perhaps Agrabah simply did not have the means to do so. Jasmine did not know which it was, for she was always kept out of state’s business, and it frustrated her to no end.

But then, the next man came and walked up towards her father, his long, black robes betraying that he wasn’t a merchant, or a farmer, or a guard, but something else entirely – something that Agrabah hadn’t seen in ages.

He drew the silence of all the people in the room, and that was quite a rare thing. The golden snake-shaped staff he wore in his hands wasn’t used for support, for he appeared to be a healthy man, and not a cripple who needed a walking stick.

“What can we do for you?” the old vizier asked, and at this the other man merely smiled.

“The question is not what you can do for me,” he replied playfully after a few moments of silence. “The question is what I can do for you – and for the good people of Agrabah.”

The vizier narrowed his eyes at the man with the golden tongue.

This newcomer didn’t seem to be the least bit impressed by the royal company he was in, and he smiled smoothly.

“Have we summoned you?” Hiran wondered, not getting up from his luxurious pillow.

Even Jasmine’s father had an intrigued look on his face and was paying attention now.

“Do you do tricks?” the Sultan asked suddenly. “You look like an entertainer - a magician of sorts.”

The question was innocent, and the stranger seemed amused.

“You are not too far off, your majesty. I am a wizard.”

The people in the large room immediately started whispering to one another, and Jasmine made sure she remained hidden behind the pillar too – unspotted by both the guards and the wizard.

“Agrabah has outlawed wizards centuries ago!” the vizier reminded him sternly, casting a glance at the guards who immediately raised their weapons and took in protective stances on either side of the vizier and the Sultan.

“Yes, and I am here to convince you to change that law,” the man said confidently, not fazed by the weapons that had been drawn. “You do not seem to grasp how handy it is to have a powerful ally by your side. I can be that ally.”

The vizier narrowed his eyes. “And what’s in it for you?”

The wizard raised his hands and shrugged. “Perhaps… your job?”

More whispering ensued, and even Jasmine felt her heart race now. Someone who dared defy the vizier like that was either very brave or very foolish – or very evil.

She did not trust the wizard, but at the same time she most certainly didn’t trust the vizier either. She had heard the complaints of her people, and the only reason they listened to the vizier was because he threatened to kill anyone who questioned his judgement.

The vizier was fuming now, and he got up from the pillow on which he’d been seated and stepped down the few stairs to where the wizard stood, sizing him up.

Though they had the same height, the stranger still seemed to tower above the vizier, if only because of his confidence.

“Well… Here I am,” the old vizier dared him. “Kill me, if you want this job.”

The wizard raised an eyebrow, then started laughing.

“What kind of a vizier would I be if I could only get this job by murdering you? No, I have something else in mind.”

He turned his head away from the vizier, ignoring him while the old man gasped and spluttered, and instead the stranger headed up the stairs, towards the Sultan. When guards stepped in front of their Majesty and aimed their spears at the wizard he merely smiled and knelt down respectfully, gazing directly into the Sultan’s eyes.

“Sultan… I will give you three weeks to make up your mind. Three weeks to consider my offer. I can be your new consultant – your most powerful ally in a dangerous world. The choice is up to you.”

The Sultan nodded, understanding the sincerity with which the wizard spoke, and as the man in the black robes saw the Sultan agree, he disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

The guards frantically looked for him, but it appeared like he was really gone – and no one had even learned his name, or knew how he was going to convince the Sultan that he was the better choice of the two.

 

 

 

Rumor of the wizard spread through all of Agrabah, and soon people were doubting if the law that was in place was a good one. The past century, stories had spread of wizards and witches in the Enchanted Forest, and how a certain witch named Regina had taken control of one of the kingdoms. If other countries in their world were allowing witches and wizards to rule and protect them, why shouldn’t they?

When next day’s audience came to be, the old vizier was still a little bit on edge, and that feeling did not get any better throughout the day. Every single person that came in front of the Sultan did not have a favor to ask that day, but instead told them they had been sent by Jafar, for various reasons.

The first time they heard the name Jafar, they weren’t sure who was meant, but as more and more citizens mentioned his name, it was clear that it was the wizard.

Jafar had apparently done a variety of things since the Sultan’s last audience. He had repaired several fishing boats by the coast – he had healed a sick mother of seven children – he had helped douse a large fire around the market place – and he had even returned a boy’s lost jackal to him. In all these things, he had let magic aid him.

In general, most things he had done were rather positive, but then there were some acts that were slightly more terrifying – like how he had murdered a band of thieves that had been plaguing the eastern outskirts of their land – or how he had removed the hand of another thief by magic.

The thief himself had even been at the audience to show the Sultan, lifting the clean stump he was now left with instead of the hand he had used before, making sure that everybody could see.

The vizier narrowed his eyes and seemed to be in a foul mood. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t have taken the thief’s hand – he too would have ordered the same – for in Agrabah, it was normal to cut off a thief’s hand as punishment. This actually looked far less painful than his punishment, and the man was without risk of further infection. The man seemed to be fine, besides the fact that he was now handless.

Though the old vizier found it a sign of weakness that Jafar had not actually _hurt_ the man, Jasmine still found it cruel.

For two weeks, the audiences were filled with people telling tales of magic, and Jasmine didn’t miss out on a single one. She was both anxious and entertained by the tales she had heard, but she still wasn’t sure what to make of this Jafar. Her first instinct had told her he had been a dark man, and shouldn’t she always trust her first impressions?

She had trouble sleeping that night, and as she sat on the wide marble railing of her balcony, she sighed. It was hot and humid this time of year, and no magic would be able to help with that. She could imagine that it was cooler by the coast – but she had never been there. She had never even left the palace, and her heart ached terribly as she considered it, looking out over a city that was nothing but a mystery to her, even if it was so close.

Looking up at the full moon and countless stars, she suddenly realized that something strange was moving through the air. It certainly wasn’t a bird, for it travelled in a straight line – towards the palace. As it drew nearer, Jasmine realized that she saw the silhouette of a man, and it didn’t take her long to realize that he was standing on a flying carpet – and that it was moving directly towards her.

Alarmed and realizing that he would be able to spot her, she ran off into her room as fast as she could, hiding behind one of the large drapes that hung against the wall – even if that was in hindsight a ridiculous and useless thing to do.

She tried not to make a sound and listened intently as she heard and felt a breeze of cool wind around her, and then the sound of soft footsteps on her balcony. It was like the breeze whispered his arrival, and she knew he was there for her.

“Princess Jasmine?” came the man’s silky voice from outside, and she felt her heart beat wildly in her throat.

What did he even want with her?

Feeling terrified, she still realized that he was not someone she could hide from, and she moved away from behind the curtain again, towards the balcony, where she saw him waiting, his snake-staff in hand as he looked at her.

Now that she was so close to him, she could see him a little better. His dark eyes weren’t cold, but rather warm, and if he had worn clothes that were a little more normal than the long robes he dressed in, she might have considered him handsome. But that thought did not cross her mind right now.

Though he had a small smile on his face, she still didn’t trust him – in fact: she had seldom felt so afraid. Luckily she was able to hide it rather well, and she held her head raised high as she walked onto the balcony.

“Wizard Jafar,” she greeted him. “What brings you here at this time of night?”

A million answers were already spooking through her mind, each more terrifying than the previous one, and she really hoped he hadn’t come here to put some sort of spell on her or to kill her.

“You do,” he replied mysteriously, and as he spotted a twinkle of fear in her eyes, he tried to smile reassuringly, but it had quite the opposite effect on her, for she only felt more frightened and took a step back.

“Please, rest easy,” he assured her, and with a wave of his hand the staff suddenly disappeared, making him appear slightly less intimidating, though not by much. With a large smile, he folded his hands together in front of his lap, hoping to set her mind at ease.

“There’s a stranger performing magic on my balcony,” Jasmine replied with narrowed eyes, her shoulders still tense. “Magic is officially still forbidden here in Agrabah. There is little to rest easy about. What do you want from me?”

He seemed amused by her honesty, and his smile did not leave his face.

“I am here to offer you something which you have longed for all your life,” he said softly, keeping his distance. “Freedom. For an hour – for a night – for the rest of your life. Whatever you wish for.”

She raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure _how_ he even knew what she wanted, for they certainly had never met.

“I’m quite fine, thank you very much,” she said quickly, trying to cut the conversation as short as possible.

“You will not accept this gift?” he wondered, his tone surprised and his gaze betraying that he had not expected her to respond in this way.

“I do not believe it is a gift, because you seem to want something in return. The others have spoken on your behalf at the audiences. What is it that you would ask of me? Do I also need to speak on your behalf now?”

He genuinely smiled again at her words, and his gentle demeanor confused her.

“You aren’t as naïve as I had thought you to be,” he admitted, sounding impressed. “Would you really let the chance slide to see a bit of the world?” As he gestured to his carpet, Jasmine felt her heart pound wildly – like she kind of loved the idea of flying and seeing the world that way, but she reminded herself of the distrust she felt for Jafar, and so she crushed the hope within that she would truly get out of the palace anytime soon.

“I’ll pass,” she said, and at this, Jafar’s expression fell for the first time since they had met. He seemed a little heartbroken.

“But you are only denying yourself of pleasure this way,” he reminded her carefully.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“I think I’m also denying you of the favor you want to ask me,” she added, and at this he suddenly smiled again.

“To be honest, I doubt the favor is very impressive,” he admitted. “All I would want to ask you, is if your father is inclined to accept my offer after all I have done. Will he let me replace Grand Vizier Hiran?”

“How should I know?”

She was just dodging the question, but was honestly surprised by his reply.

“Because you know your father, and the vizier, and I bet you haven’t missed a single audience.”

Jasmine could not hide the surprise on her face as he appeared to know that, and Jafar smiled.

“I saw you hiding behind that pillar,” he admitted. “I’m rather surprised the guards didn’t. I have an inkling that those who spot you pretend they don’t. You seem to have a likeable nature.”

She raised an eyebrow. “A likeable nature?” she repeated, never having heard a compliment like that and not sure what to make of it.

Aware of how silly that sounded, he chuckled. “Apologies if that offends you.”

She shook her head. She wasn’t offended by those words – even if part of her wanted to be offended by everything he had said so far.

“So for information on my father’s thoughts, you would offer me freedom?” she asked him with narrowed eyes, and as he nodded, she seemed even more confused.

She kept quiet for a few moments, thinking, but eventually said: “I honestly have no information to give you in that regard. Though I’m the princess, I have no power over what my father thinks or does.”

“I think you underestimate yourself,” Jafar said warmly. “I’m convinced your father would listen to you. He cares for you.”

“Not enough to tell me of your existence, though. He doesn’t even know I’ve been to the audiences. For all he knows, I’m as oblivious as he wants me to be. I could not speak on your behalf to him – he would not value my opinion, or the fact that I’ve disobeyed his orders by attending the audiences.”

Jafar looked at her while she said those words, and at the end he merely nodded in an understanding way.

“Shame… That your opinion isn’t valued.”

Jasmine narrowed her eyes again as she realized he was already coming up with another plan.

“You know, if I was the vizier, you’d be allowed to sit in on the audiences,” he said lightly. “After all, as the kingdom’s future ruler, it would be silly not to train you for the task. Have you had an education?”

Jasmine hated that question, if only because her answer was negative.

“I taught myself how to read,” she informed him, and at this he seemed surprised.

“That isn’t an easy thing to do. I admire your perseverance, princess. You do not seem to be valued for anything but your beauty in this kingdom.”

It seemed to be more of a statement than a compliment, and she remained wary as she looked at him. He had hardly moved at all and seemed to be very interested in talking with her. It wasn’t something she was used to. She secretly enjoyed it more than she was willing to admit.

“You don’t seem to trust me?” he remarked as he noticed how the frown on her face hadn’t disappeared during anything he had said.

“I sense darkness in you,” she said immediately, not seeing a need to lie about that, and she was surprised to see him chuckle.

“You are very perceptive,” he agreed with a smile. “Yet in all the tales you have heard of me by now, have I gone too far in what I have done?”

Considering it, she shook her head. “You have acted by the laws and standards of Agrabah. But you do not seem to regret your punishment of thieves.”

“It is written in the law that they may be executed or maimed, dependent on the gravity of their crime.”

“Yet you say that with such ease,” she replied sharply.

As he looked at her, she had the feeling that he was dissecting her very soul.

“Do you blame soldiers for killing in a war? Or an executioner for doing what the law expects him to do for his country?”

“You are neither,” she reminded him. “You’re a free man. What you do is your own choice – and even before you had done any of those things you struck me as a dark man. What is it you’re really after? Do you want my father’s crown?”

He was impressed by how honest she dared to be with him, and in return he replied honestly as well.

“I have no desire for the crown, truthfully. But I do wish to help Agrabah, and I can’t do that while magic is outlawed and Grand Vizier Hiran is in charge. I have no desire to become an outlaw, but there is a war brewing, and Agrabah will need magic if it is to survive it.”

Jasmine was a little alarmed. “A war?” She had heard nothing to confirm that, not from the audiences at least.

“I spoke to the Dark One.” As he saw the princess’s confused expression, he elaborated: “A powerful wizard from the Enchanted Forest. He suggested I’d pick a side. I don’t assume he meant for me to pick Agrabah’s side – but it does feel more like home than the rest of this world.”

Jasmine still didn’t know what to make of it and remained very quiet.

“I don’t assume you’ll speak to your father on my behalf?” he tried again, smiling.

She shook her head. “As far as he is concerned, I don’t even know who you are.”

“I understand,” he said as he headed back to his carpet and summoned the staff in his hand again. “But you know, with me as the royal vizier, your chances of getting a proper education and being included in state’s affairs would significantly increase. You do not have anything to fear from me – whether you sense darkness in me or not. Have a good night, princess.”

She felt her heart race at the promise of a better life than the life she was living right now. She didn’t say anything at all in reply to his words though, and when his carpet lifted off and he flew back over the city of Agrabah, she looked at him as long as she could – until he eventually disappeared from her sight - in-between the stars.

She had a lot to think about.

 

 

As the final of the three weeks came to pass, Jasmine grew more anxious to follow the audiences, but at the same time it became harder for her to hide. More and more people came to the great throne room every day, and she hardly had a hiding place anymore by the last few days. In order to get in, she put on simple brown robes with which she covered her expensive outfit, and she managed to get quite close to hear what her people had to say.

Jasmine had an inkling that Jafar wasn’t only trying to win her father’s favor, but also hers. This week especially she had heard tales of how he had helped rebuild a school that had fallen into decay, and how he had stopped an unhappy marriage from happening and found another consensus that kept both families happy. He had read to children and taught them about magic, and shown them all that it could be used for good, and not just for evil.

She hated to admit it, but he was doing good things – things that Grand Vizier Hiran had never done. Even if she was uncertain about Jafar’s intentions, at least she knew that Hiran cared for no one but himself, and wasn’t it better to go for someone whose intentions she did not know then?

On the final day of the three weeks, Hiran was in a foul mood, and he had instructed the guards to never let more than ten people enter the throne room at once, to keep curious crowds outside, for he hated how the audiences had turned into a circus.

But at the same time that he had appeared last time, the door opened and Jafar walked in, followed by all those people that had been waiting outside, and Hiran got up and immediately protested.

“No more than ten people are allowed inside at a time!” he cried out, and though he looked to the guards for help, none of them moved, and they appeared to be on Jafar’s side.

Jasmine had been hiding behind her usual pillar again, and as she looked at Jafar’s entry, she caught his gaze for a small second, in which he offered her a smile.

She immediately retreated again, feeling a little nauseous, but by the time Jafar had walked up to her father, she was looking at the spectacle again, trying to see as much as she could.

“Your majesty,” he greeted the Sultan, bowing elegantly before him. “Have you had time to consider my offer?”

The Sultan was usually a man of only a few words, but today he had more to say.

“I have. And in all I’ve heard you do for my people, I do wonder… What is it that you would do for me?”

Grand Vizier Hiran had a suspicious gaze on Jafar, though he was hopeful that the Sultan would remain loyal to him alone.

Even Jafar seemed a little thrown back by that question, and he frowned for a moment.

“I would keep your people happy. I would make sure they’d be safe, and that they’d have it well. If the people are happy, are you not happy, Your Majesty?”

The crowd was completely silent as they waited for the Sultan to speak, and though he took his time, he did smile widely.

“I suppose I would be!” he admitted cheerfully. “But how do I know you will keep up your good work once you are Vizier? Who is to say you won’t turn your back on us the moment I give you the Grand Vizier’s ring?”

“Because I swear my loyalty to you and to Agrabah – and it would be my honor to call this place my home as well.”

Jasmine was listening curiously, and she thought he sounded very intense – and sincere. It was strange, that he did not consider Agrabah his home yet. Where had he grown up then? Did he come from the Enchanted Forest?

As the people in the room suddenly started calling Jafar’s name, Grand Vizier Hiran’s mood became even fouler than before, and as he cried for them to remain quiet, they only became louder, chanting Jafar’s name for a long while, not shutting up no matter how hard Grand Vizier Hiran tried to over-shout them. Jasmine felt shivers down her spine as she heard her people cry out as one for Jafar’s cause, and though she was cautious, she wanted to see what Jafar would do – how he would be – and if he would be the ruin of Agrabah, or the Grand Vizier they had needed all along.

When her father raised his hands, the crowd grew quiet again, and the Sultan smiled at Jafar.

“You may just have found yourself a new home, Jafar. I would be honored to have you as my new Royal Vizier.”

As the crowd started clapping and cheering, even Jasmine felt like she wanted to join in. While Jafar walked up the steps, Grand Vizier Hiran took off his ring, the one symbol of his power, but instead of handing it to Jafar, he tossed it away as far as he could – in the direction of the pillar behind which Jasmine had hidden.

As she ducked away behind the pillar, she noticed how the ring continued rolling, and ended up only a few feet away from her.

Gulping, she realized that she might as well. If Jafar was a man of his word, then she would have nothing to fear by revealing herself to the public now. And if he had lied all along, then she would find out straight away. Why wait?

She walked from her hiding place towards the ring, and as she picked it up and people saw it was her, they grew quiet again.

Old vizier Hiran was already leaving the room as Jasmine walked up towards her father and Jafar. Though the Sultan seemed surprised and slightly shocked to see her there, Jafar wasn’t, and he had a smile on his face as Jasmine stopped in front of him and raised the ring for him to take.

“A word of warning though,” she spoke quietly – so quiet that hardly even her father could hear. “If you hurt Agrabah in any way, I will hurt you back ten times as hard. I don’t know how, but I will. Do you understand?”

His wide smile fell a little bit, but he did nod. “I have no intention of hurting Agrabah. I will prove my loyalty to you. You’ll see.”

As he opened his hand in front of her, she put the ring in the palm of his hand, and as she stepped away again, more cheers erupted from the people there while he slid it onto his finger.

Before Jasmine could walk into the shadows again, she suddenly noticed how a comfortable blue pillow appeared in a cloud of purple smoke, besides her father’s, and as she turned her head and looked at Jafar, he nodded in the direction of the pillow, as a signal for her that this spot was now hers.

She had expected the need to make a silent retreat, but now, she realized that he had truly meant it when he had said he wanted her present in all the audiences, and as she walked up the stairs with trembling hands, even her father seemed surprised.

“Hiran always forbade women to…” the Sultan started, but Jafar interrupted him.

“Hiran was scared of her,” Jafar said loud enough for them both to hear. “Because she has a good heart and good instincts. That’s precisely what Agrabah needs. She can stay.”

Though she hated to admit it, she was moved by those words. At the same time, she was confused by the fact that he complimented her instincts. Wasn’t that like admitting that he was a bad person? For her instincts had told her that precisely, and she had even voiced that to him. It made little sense for him to agree with her on that.

As she looked up over the crowd before her, they cheered again, and she could not help but smile at the sight of her happy citizens. Perhaps now she would finally be able to make a difference.


	2. A Wizard's Limit

“You must be happy with Jafar as the new Vizier,” was the first thing her father had said to her at breakfast the following day.

Though she wasn’t happy with Jafar in that particular title, she was happy with her new responsibilities. She no longer needed to hide behind pillars in order to hear what her people had to say.

“I am happy that he sees me as a person and not as a prize to be given to the prince with the biggest army,” she replied, snapping at her father as she remembered how Grand Vizier Hiran had mentioned wedding her off at the age of fifteen already. Luckily, her father had opposed back then, but he still had seemed alright with waiting until she was eighteen before giving her away like she was not worthy of true love.

Her father narrowed his eyes as he watched her, and slowly continued eating his breakfast when a servant entered and announced the arrival of Jafar.

“Do send him in!” the Sultan said eagerly, and though Jasmine felt alarmed that he would be joining them, there was little she could do against her father’s wishes – or tradition. Hiran had always shared their breakfast table as well.

A moment later, Jafar walked into the large dining room, and as he looked around the room, he had a small smile on his face, like he enjoyed the architecture alone. The purple pillars with golden accents stood out beautifully against the pink walls and white floor, and the massive window let in so much sun that it seemed like they were bathing in light itself. His dark robes seemed out of place, compared to her father’s cream and Jasmine’s aqua-colored outfits.

As he walked towards the Sultan, he bowed respectfully.

“Your Majesty,” he greeted him, before he turned to the princess and bowed once more. “Princess.” As he got up, he looked at the breakfast table. “I do hope you are enjoying your breakfast?”

“Very much so!” the Sultan said warmly, gesturing towards one of the large chairs around their breakfast table, and Jafar took a seat. “Won’t you join us?”

“Maybe I’ll have some fruit,” Jafar said after a little bit of hesitation, and Jasmine chewed very slowly as she watched him, still trying to make sense of him. When Jafar noticed this, he chuckled, before he turned to the Sultan again.

“I have read up on Agrabah’s history and customs,” Jafar admitted to the Sultan. “And I have memorized your book of law. I do not consider myself an expert yet, but I do wish to check with you if our political views align.”

Jasmine felt a little alarmed by that. She now thought her father was an idiot for not checking the political views of Jafar before she had accepted him as the Sultan, but at the same time she had not considered it before either, and she was curious what would be revealed in the following conversation.

“Please, do continue,” her father said warmly, grabbing some fruit to eat himself.

Jafar nodded, and he did not waste time before he began to speak.

“Agrabah is beautiful and prosperous, and though it has many brave guards and soldiers, no one is a match for a magical opponent. Now I understand that Agrabah, like all other large kingdoms in this world, has one of the Gems of Life. But if I understand correctly, there is no one protecting it?”

Jasmine was intrigued. Never before had she heard anyone speak of this Gem of Life, and she was surprised that her father talked about it so effortlessly, even if he had never spoken of it before – not to her.

“No, in fact, there are several holy guards protecting the Gem of Life.”

“Holy guards?” Jafar asked, frowning. “Do they know magic?”

The Sultan shook his head. “No, but they have dedicated their life in service of protecting the Gem of Life. And they do not need magic, since the Gem has not been moved for seven hundred years, and it has been safely protected by a magical barrier for just as long.”

Jafar was intrigued. “So there is magic in Agrabah?”

“The gem is a little outside of Agrabah actually,” the Sultan admitted, and Jafar nodded.

“I figured as much. I saw the lush green fields and fruit orchards to the east. At first I could hardly make sense of it, since there wasn’t a river nearby, until I considered that it had to be where the Gem was being kept.”

“Why do you ask, Jafar?” Jasmine interrupted him, the mistrust clear in her expression.

He did not take offense to the question. “Because this gem needs to be protected at all costs in order to protect your way of life as well,” he said as he turned towards her. “You do not agree?”

Jasmine stared at him for a few moments, before she said: “This is the first I hear of a Gem of Life. But if I understand correctly, it’s what makes the soil fertile to the east?”

He nodded once. “Indeed, princess. Without it, there would just be more desert, and we would not have all this food at our breakfast table. And without it, Agrabah would not have been able to prosper as it has. The thousands of inhabitants in this city would not be able to feed themselves without it, and in case war would ever come to our doorstep, we should assume our enemy would want to steal away this gem first. It has the power to cripple us, more than it could cripple any other nation in this world. Which is why it is of utmost importance that we protect the gem properly.”

The Sultan laughed. “Jafar, we have good relationships with all the nations. Though I appreciate your thoroughness, I hardly think this is a priority.”

Jafar raised an eyebrow, not understanding how the Sultan could treat this as something trivial.

“Your Majesty, I have to disagree. Before I came here, I spoke to a powerful wizard from the Enchanted Forest. He mentioned that war would come to this world sooner than we might like it. I do not know if he was talking about days, weeks or years, but what I do know is that I do not wish to have the Gem of Life stolen because we underestimated its need for protection.”

The Sultan frowned as he shook his head.

“So what if it gets stolen!” he cried out in an amused tone. “Now that we have you, you can just feed us with magic.”

Even Jasmine frowned at her father’s words, and as she exchanged a glance with Jafar, she saw that he was just as concerned with her father’s simple way of thinking.

Realizing that he needed to demonstrate, he took a peach from the bowl of fruit, and as he held it in his hand, he focused really hard, until the peach seemed to shrivel away and started to sprout. As he focused for several more seconds, a small plant grew in the palm of his hand, the sapling’s roots spreading over his fingers while its green leaves spread higher and higher.

The Sultan cried out in surprise and amusement and started clapping at this magic trick, even if that was not the response Jafar was going for.

When the tiny tree was a feet high, he turned to Jasmine.

“Princess, would you be so kind as to take this tree from my hand and put it in a pot or such?”

Though she found it an odd request, she nodded. As she got up from her seat and walked up to him, she took the plant from his hand. As she was about to turn and head out of the room, she suddenly yelped when she noticed the tree started turning into ash, and before she knew it, her hands were covered by black ash and the tree had withered and died.

The Sultan looked alarmed, and Jafar explained: “Some magic cannot sustain itself once the creator of said magic is no longer occupied with it. I could probably grow a tree to its full size and reap its benefits, but it would wither into ash the moment my focus would be gone. It is a specific kind of magic that only certain wizards are able to perform flawlessly, but the cost is very high. I cannot feed all of Agrabah if disaster were to befall it. I could hardly feed myself, for the food would turn to ash in my own stomach.”

As Jasmine brushed the ash off her hands, she looked at her father to see if he had understood as well, and she saw that he looked quite pale.

“Understood,” he said. “What do you suggest?”

“We must go to the gem as soon as possible. I need to know what is done to protect it, and if needed, reinforce its defenses.”

The Sultan nodded. “Of course. I will take you there myself.” As he summoned the head of the Royal Guard, a large man named Razoul, he ordered him to prepare a convoy of guards to take them out of the palace. Once her father was done with that and dismissed Razoul, Jasmine immediately asked: “Can I come too?”

“The less people know of the Gem of Life’s exact location, the better,” her father said strictly.

Pouting, she answered: “But you just ordered an entire convoy to take you there!”

“The convoy won’t see the gem or the entrance to where it’s kept. And neither will you, Jasmine. You will remain in the palace.”

She wasn’t happy to hear that, and as she looked at Jafar, she saw that even he wasn’t sure whether to disagree with her father or not now. It seemed he decided against it, for he remained quiet and did not take her side in this. She could not help but wonder if perhaps this was what he had wanted all along…

She hoped with all her heart that nothing bad would befall Agrabah because of this decision.

This wasn’t just a trinket that the Sultan would be showing Jafar – it would be like showing this man the heart of Agrabah – and she feared the way in which a wizard could abuse that.


	3. Kai's Genie

When Jafar and the Sultan returned in the evening, it did not seem like Jafar had misbehaved in the presence of the Gem, for her father was cheerful, and Jafar seemed pleased too.

Suspicious of him like before, she expected him to make a move on the gem before the week was over, but all remained well. He kept working diligently as the Vizier, and he did not appear to show further interest in the gem.

They had a few audiences a week where she and Jafar sat on either side of her father. While she remained quiet, Jafar did speak to the people, often after consulting with her father if his solution was one the Sultan agreed with, and though Jafar asked for approval much more than she remembered Grand Vizier Hiran ever doing, Jasmine realized how incredibly easy her father was. It was like he hardly had much of a will at all because he agreed with everything, and she wondered sometimes how he could be of her blood, for she felt like she was the opposite.

She kept a keen eye on Jafar, but did not spot any signs of betrayal. Instead, he seemed genuinely happy to help other people, and Jasmine could make little sense of it. It was like she could constantly taste the darkness around him – but why did she never see him act upon it?

Not just that, but he had taken an interest in her which slightly threw her off. He was very concerned with her own education, and he began giving her large books to read and texts to learn, and sometimes he would even question her on the geography of the world, and ask her to sum up the big rulers in the Enchanted Forest or beyond it.

Her father beheld them sometimes during breakfast, noticing how, though Jasmine didn’t seem to like him, she did enjoy the quizzes he subjected her to. She was eager to get the right answers, and to prove her value this way. Though he liked to see his daughter happy, he wasn’t so certain that there was any use in providing her with an education.

One morning, as Jasmine was late for breakfast, the Sultan spotted another heavy tome in Jafar’s hand as he arrived – no doubt to present to the princess – and he asked: “Are you sure it’s necessary to educate her on all these things?”

Jafar raised an eyebrow as he looked at the Sultan. “You would rather keep the future leader of Agrabah as dumb as possible?”

The Sultan frowned, not meaning it that way. “It’s not that – it’s that she won’t be the leader anyway, but her husband will be. And she is already incredibly stubborn. I’m afraid no prince would want her if she would turn out to be more intelligent than they are. She likes to show off too much and most men don’t like being overshadowed or contradicted.”

Even to Jafar’s standards, that was a cruel way to speak about anyone, and as he saw the princess enter, he saw in her expression that she had overheard every offensive word so far, but remained quiet.

As he turned back to the Sultan, he said smoothly: “Then we’ll just need to make sure we don’t wed her off to an idiot, but to a prince who can match her intelligence and is not intimidated by her.”

Though Jasmine wasn’t happy with the discussion, she wasn’t angry with Jafar’s response. So far, the Vizier had not once mentioned wedding her off. Her education seemed to be far more important to him, and she could not help but wonder why Jafar was the way he was. No other person in Agrabah would have cared about her education or the quality of her future – no one at all – yet here he was, darkest person she’d ever met, doing nothing she could disagree with.

When she took a seat, she pretended not to have heard any of her father’s words, but she did not look at him or talk to him for the rest of the day, instead burying herself in the book Jafar had brought along – this one about the history of Camelot and their encounters with magic.

The more she read about magic, the more she began to understand that it was a choice to learn it – not a talent – and she wondered about Jafar’s past and how he had learned magic. There were still too many things that did not add up about him – his origins, being one of those things. He seemed to be new to Agrabah – yet at the same time he seemed oddly familiar with it, not to mention that it at least looked like he had been born here. It made little sense.

As she was sitting on her balcony, she looked up at the night sky, suddenly noticing something above the furthest palace wall. It was Jafar on his flying carpet, headed back towards his tower room. He did not seem to spot her, and she felt slightly disappointed by that. She would not have minded an opportunity to talk to him in private – and to ask him about his past.

As she returned to her room, she realized that there was no reason to wait for the right moment. He was in his room – she was the princess – surely she could go wherever she pleased in her own home?

Before she left her room, she put on a beautiful shawl so she wouldn’t be cold. Nights were starting to get a little cooler around this time of year, and though days were still scorching hot, nights could be the opposite.

While she made her way through the corridors, she did see how several servants and guards were surprised to see her out of her room at this time of evening, but none of them remarked upon her presence as she headed towards Jafar’s tower.

Once there, she knocked on the door, and as she heard him say “enter”, she opened it and stepped in immediately.

She was slightly surprised to see him sitting on his bed with a scroll in his hand and several more scrolls beside him. While one leg casually dangled off the side of the bed, the other one was folded underneath him, and he did not look up straight away.

What surprised Jasmine most, was that he wasn’t wearing the heavy robes that he usually wore. In fact, he wore a simpler back tunic with black pants underneath, and he’d already taken off his shoes – like he had been about to head to bed.

When she remained quiet for too long, he looked up though, and as he spotted her, his eyes widened and he immediately got up from the bed, reaching for his longer robes as they hung over one of the chairs, wasting no time in putting them on as he said: “Princess, apologies. I had no idea it was you.”

She raised her hands, taking no offense to the state she had found him in, though it had been a strange sight to see him so casual.

“No need to apologize,” she assured him. “I suppose I should be the one apologizing for disturbing you at this time of evening.”

As he closed his robes, he looked at her with a slightly worried expression. “Are you alright, princess?”

She became a little nervous now, averting her eyes as she looked around his tower bedroom. It was rather simple compared to her own, and she wondered if the room had always been such a bright red, or if that had been his choice. She couldn’t remember ever being in that room before.

“I am… I just couldn’t sleep.”

He nodded slowly, figuring that there was more to it than that, and he pulled a chair from underneath his desk, offering her a seat. After she sat down, he moved to sit on the edge of his bed, his hands folded together as he looked at her.

“I don’t suppose you came to me for a sleeping potion or anything of the sort?” he asked with a slightly amused undertone.

As she shook her head, he began to have an inkling why she was there. Her curiosity had finally gotten the better of her, and apparently she no longer feared him enough to keep her distance. He had wondered when that would happen.

“Jafar… Where did you learn magic?”

Her eyes were wide as she looked at him, and he thought her curiosity was an endearing trait. She was so eager to learn about this world, but what he would tell her would not be of this world.

“Actually… In Agrabah.”

Jasmine frowned at his mysterious words, not understanding who would have taught him magic then if it had been outlawed so many centuries ago, or where he would have gotten the books to teach himself.

Seeing her confusion, he was willing to elaborate: “But not in the Agrabah you know… I am actually not of the same world you’re from.”

Jasmine’s mouth dropped a little and she pulled up her nose, frowning. “Huh?”

He smiled at her unintelligent response to that, and explained: “There are many worlds out there… Some unlike this one… Others very much like this one. It’s possible to travel to several other worlds… Wonderland, for example – or Neverland – and there are more… They’re all part of one big universe – but even universes are infinite – meaning that there are several more universes where Agrabah exists. And in several of those worlds, you might be a princess. In others, you might not even have been born. And maybe in some worlds, you’re already married off, and in others you might be a servant.”

She tried to grasp what he was trying to explain, and though the concept seemed plausible, she found it strange to think he came from another universe.

“So you’re not from this Agrabah?”

He shook his head. “No. As a matter of fact, my Agrabah was completely different. Even the royal palace was different from this one. And it was not your family that sat on the throne – I don’t even know if your family was alive in my universe.”

“Who was the Sultan then?” she wondered curiously, trying to imagine this other universe.

He was quiet for a moment, looking into her eyes before he admitted: “My father.”

Jasmine’s eyes widened for a moment, and his response suddenly made her smile. “Wait – you’re a prince?!” She seemed terribly amused by that, and he did smile in return to her response, though his expression fell just a moment later.

“Not lawfully… Not really…” There was a hint of bitterness in his tone, and Jasmine was starting to frown too as she was realizing that he had no good memories of that place.

“I was a bastard,” he admitted honestly, not looking her in the eye, but instead looking at his hands as they were folded in his lap. “Am, a bastard.”

She could sense how darkly he felt about that – how miserable those thoughts seemed to make him, and she didn’t even realize how much her following question hit home for him: “Were you exiled?”

He looked up in slight surprise – wondering how she could have guessed – but he assumed that it was because he wasn’t trying to hide anything from her, and she was a perceptive girl.

“In a way…” he replied, sighing. “It’s a long story.”

Jasmine stood up for a moment and moved her chair closer to him, until she was sitting close enough to touch him, and she put her hand on his as she smiled and said: “Tell me.”

He was moved by her concern, by the simple fact that she had dared to put her hand on his, and as he looked at her, it was like his heart melted a little bit, for he realized that he truly cared for her in a way that was rare to him.

“It’s not a pretty story, princess,” he admitted. “In fact, it’s not a happy story or a good story. You have sensed the darkness in me before. You’re not wrong about that. But I do not wish to upset you.”

She tried to empathize with him, but her curiosity was too great. “Jafar, how can I ever truly trust you if you keep things from me?”

He was quiet for a few moments before he replied: “I don’t think you will ever trust me again once I do tell you where I come from – and once you learn all that I’ve done. I was not a good man before I came to this world. I’m still nowhere near perfect, but I like this new life I have found here.”

Though he was dodging her question, he was also being cruelly honest in admitting that his past was something that would upset her, and she truly appreciated that he told her as much.

“If you were so evil,” she began. “Then why are you so honest that you admit to it? Do you tell me in the hopes that I will ask you to tell me more? Are you looking to confess in order to clear your conscience? Why else would you admit your darkness at all?”

He smiled in appreciation of her insight, his eyes twinkling as he looked at her. “You truly are wise beyond your years, princess. In the past months that we have known each other, you have not once failed to amaze me.”

Though she was flattered, she was also still very curious about his past, and she urged him: “Please tell me, Jafar. Tell me how dark your past was.”

He lowered his gaze again, but nodded briefly. “I think you could say that I’ve done every wrong imaginable. Every crime – every bad choice – I’ve made it myself. I could hide behind wrongs that have been done to me when I was young – but everything I did after that moment was still my own choice – and I never chose the right side. Not until recently, at least.”

“What changed?” Jasmine wondered.

As he looked at his hands, he suddenly began to smile, like he was in another universe again, and he shook his head as though he found it hard to imagine himself.

“I became a genie… And though I had every intent to escape the hellish prison that was my lamp – eventually, I didn’t need to.”

Jasmine had heard of genies, and hearing that Jafar had been one was surprising to say the least – he certainly didn’t seem to be one anymore.

“I was turned into a genie as punishment – for many crimes, I suppose, but let’s just say that I pissed off a creature whose magical powers are beyond the powers of all wizards in this entire world. And so my lamp went from owner to owner, and I was tasked with fulfilling wishes – most of them really stupid ones too, and I knew they’d come back to haunt the wisher at a later point in time. I didn’t care – in fact: I counted on it. My wishers hated me – they knew who I had been before – and they knew I could not harm them anymore. I was angry with them – with everyone – and I thought revenge was more important than anything. I had always thought that. But I also knew, from experience, that revenge never solves anything. It doesn’t even feel as great as you’d think it’d feel.”

As Jasmine listened, she nodded in an understanding way, even if she still could not imagine what horrors he had done precisely – or what horrors he had lived through.

“And while I was still plotting and scheming to find my way out of the lamp, and to go after revenge, my lamp got lost for a little while. And I don’t know how many years passed until I was found by this kid… He was only seven years old – and he lived on the outskirts of the kingdom, in a home that was hewn out in some sandy cliffs not too far from the coastline. His entire village was poor – his family wore rags and struggled to get by – but even then, they were so happy.”

He smiled at the memory, and Jasmine couldn’t help but echo his expression.

“When this seven-year-old kid took me with him, to introduce me to his family – he didn’t even realize that I was bitter and didn’t want to help him or anyone else – but that I was forced to do so. And I thought to myself: this family’s going to fight over me. They’re going to take my lamp from the boy, and I’ll be handed down from one owner to the next until this family destroys itself by wishing for things it cannot handle.”

“But they didn’t?” Jasmine asked, surprised, but feeling that there was more to their story.

Jafar shook his head and smiled.

“They didn’t.”

“Did the boy have a name?” she wondered, and Jafar’s eyes twinkled as he replied.

“Yes. Kai.”

He even seemed to say that name with a hint of affection, and this truly intrigued Jasmine.

“What happened?”

“When Kai showed his family the lamp and introduced me to them, none of them asked for the lamp – and none of them had heard of me. All of them congratulated Kai for his luck and welcomed me into their home. Even though they had nothing, they wished to share their food with me – even if I didn’t need food or rest or anything else. I could have gone back into the lamp if I had asked Kai to, but I didn’t find the opportunity to do so, for they were talking to me and treating me like one of their own. I wasn’t at ease, I must admit. So as soon as I could, I tried to ask Kai what he would wish for – I even tried to give him ideas, suggesting that he’d ask me to make a bedroom for him – for he slept with all his brothers in the same room – but he said that he was fine with that, and that he didn’t mind sleeping with his brothers, even if they snored. So I suggested that I could give him gold or anything fancy that would make his family rich, but even then he shook his head, because he said that he had no use for gold. Instead, he asked me to teach him, and his brothers and sisters, all that I could – for he said that the rarest thing in his village was a good education – and that, if they were smart, they would automatically be able to get ahead of the others.”

Jasmine frowned, finding that the strangest wish ever. She imagined that if she would have had a wish, she would have asked for freedom, though the more she thought about it, the more she realized that education was fun too.

“No wonder you’re so good at teaching me new things,” she remarked. “You became a teacher!”

He nodded, still smiling.

“I wasn’t very good at first. I taught them to read and write, just as I had been taught once. Then I taught them the basics of mathematics and science. They were interested in agriculture, and though I had never known much about it before, being a Genie granted me with insights I had never before had, and so I spread what knowledge I had on that regard as well. Then once they were the best farmers in the land, they wished to know how to construct better houses, and so I taught them the basic principles of architecture. Then Kai wished to learn how to be a healer, for his grandmother was starting to get ill, and so I taught him all I could about medicine and anatomy and disease, and it continued like that for many years. There were always new things to teach, even if I don’t think I was the best teacher they could have had – but it was a good life for me, in a way. I learned to be happy with less – with nothing, really. Their school was in an empty cavern – and at first, they practiced their writing in the sand. I didn’t think I’d ever care for them – but their progress became my own, and I became proud of what they were turning into. After a while, there was no need to pretend for me anymore – I no longer had my mind on revenge – and I really started listening to Kai – and he worshipped me, not knowing of my past at all. He just thought of me as his magical friend and teacher, and he attributed my fits of grumpiness to the fact that I had such a tiny lamp to live in, and so he let me live a life outside of it as well. Though they weren’t able to pay me for the work I did, I had never before seen gratitude like his. His entire family took me in as one of their own. Even if I was still a genie, and if I still returned to my lamp each night, I had a home there for many years, and I watched Kai and his brothers and sisters grow up. When they grew older, they started taking control of their village in their own way. They were now expert farmers and merchants and doctors and teachers themselves. They were fair and just with one another and with their neighbors, and the village prospered. Kai became the leader of his town about a decade after he reached adulthood, and this is when he told me that I had nothing left to teach him, and that he would from now on teach himself, and that his first wish had been granted.”

Jasmine enjoyed listening to his story very much. She had always loved fairy tales, and this was even more exciting than Scheherazade’s tales.

“What was his second wish?” Jasmine wondered curiously.

“The second wish was actually his final wish,” Jafar said sadly, and Jasmine frowned.

“How come? Didn’t he get three?”

“It would have been his right, but we never got around to it. Even after his first wish, he kept me around – to help him rule his village. It was not a wish, but it was truly my pleasure to be involved with all that. But it didn’t last for more than a few months. Even if I had lived lifetimes inside my bottle, my old legacy came back to haunt me. Kai’s older brother had become a merchant and had travelled to the city of Agrabah, and when he came back, he told them what he had learned. He had asked around about genies, and had found records of my past. He told them that I had once been the bastard son of the Sultan – that I had killed my own brother and father – that I had terrorized other worlds and terrified the people of Agrabah long ago – and that I had unknowingly challenged the Nyx and that she had turned me into a genie as punishment.”

The princess gulped as she heard those confessions. Even though he did not mention the details, she had not yet known that Jafar had killed his own family. She supposed that she shouldn’t have been surprised and remained quiet as she continued to listen.

“I had never felt more ashamed in my entire life… I felt sick, just from watching how these people who had once loved me unconditionally now feared and shunned me, and even Kai didn’t know what to do with me anymore. He sent me back into my lamp, and didn’t bring me out for weeks. I wasn’t even bitter or angry with them, I was just… disgusted with myself – annoyed with myself more than anything. I wanted to take it all back – to change a past that was set in stone.”

Jasmine realized that there were a few tears in his eyes, and she shot him a compassionate gaze, even if he wasn’t looking at her.

“When Kai let me out of the bottle again, we were in the cavern that we had used as a school during his childhood. I fell to my knees and begged him for forgiveness. I was sobbing, and soon he was crying too. I don’t recall everything we said to one another – but I told him how much I hated going back into the lamp – how much I had grown to care for him – how I wished to remain _his_ genie and stay by his side – and how the idea that I had disappointed him had somehow become the greatest punishment I had ever received. He said it was not up to him to forgive me for what I had done, but he hugged me and I embraced him for a long while, before he took a hold of my shoulders and said: I wish you true happiness, Jafar – a life where you will get all the opportunities you need to prove that you’re a good man.”

Jafar wiped a tear away and sucked on his bottom lip for a moment, closing his eyes as he shook his head.

“So that’s when you were no longer a genie?” Jasmine asked quietly. “He wished for your freedom, in a way?”

Nodding, he dared to look at the princess again, though he felt terribly sad at the same time.

“Before I knew it, I was in this world – a free man – utterly confused about my whereabouts, and the first thing I did was look for Kai. Though I found the seaside cliffs where he had used to live, I did not find a village there, or a trace of one. I came to Agrabah, and saw that everything was different – that the palace was not the same as it had been in my world – and I learned that magic had been outlawed. Uncertain what that meant for me and my happiness, I travelled for a while. I enchanted a flying carpet and headed off.”

He chuckled briefly at the memory.

“In hindsight, that was a little bit careless, for the moment I arrived in the Enchanted Forest, this drew the attention of the Dark One. He was curious about me, and I was curious about him. And so it took him like one minute to realize I didn’t come from this world at all, since I had shown no signs that I recognized his name. He was intrigued by my flying carpet and wanted to strike a deal with me. In return for my flying carpet, I would get to ask him one question, any question, and he’d answer it.”

“Did you accept the deal?” Jasmine asked, fascinated by his story.

“Actually, I changed it,” he said proudly. “I offered to teach him how to enchant a carpet himself, but in return I asked for one hour of conversation – where I could ask as many questions as I liked about this world. He accepted, and he answered all the questions I could think of to the best of his abilities. When I asked him if this world was plagued by wars, he informed me that this world had never truly been without wars. When I asked him if there were any current wars, he told me how the Evil Queen had been trying to gain more power within the Enchanted Forest, and that she would be setting her sights outside of her borders soon enough. He said that he could see a war spread across this world within the next few years, if the Evil Queen got her way. He advised me to pick a side before then and told me that the Queen would probably be glad to have me on her side, and I thanked him for the advice. But from what he told me about the Queen, she sounded like the kind of ruler I used to be before I had met Kai, and I knew happiness would not be down that path.”

Jasmine felt strangely moved by that part of the story, and asked: “So you chose our side? Even though you knew no one in Agrabah? Why us?”

He shrugged. “I guess Agrabah is the closest thing I have to a home. I like the desert – the spices – snakes…” He nodded towards his snake staff as it stood against his desk. He chuckled. “I suppose I didn’t really know where to go… But when I heard that magic had been outlawed in this entire land, I figured that I could make myself useful here – to literally fill the void that your laws had created – and when I saw what a selfish Vizier Hiran was, I knew that I had to try and take his place. To be honest, it was kind of fun…”

The princess smiled warmly. “You did seem like you were having a good time, marching in and confusing Hiran like you did.”

“Must have been my dark side,” he teased, and Jasmine chuckled at those words.

“To be honest… This is nothing like I would have expected to hear when I came in here…” she admitted.

Intrigued, he tilted his head. “What had you expected then?”

She shook her head. “Not… _this_ , I suppose. This almost sounds like one of Scheherazade’s tales, and I sincerely hope that you do find happiness here.”

“Schehere-who?” he wondered, and at this Jasmine’s eyes grew large.

“You don’t know her?” she asked, perplexed. “Why, she only wrote the greatest stories in existence! Stories of genies and robbers and princes – tales of adventure and friendship and love!”

As he continued to frown, Jasmine sighed, smiling.

“I can only imagine how cruel your world must have been, without her tales. Would you like to hear her story?”

He nodded with a warm smile, and she gladly filled him in.

“Her own story goes as follows… Every night, the son of the sultan would ask for a virgin to be brought to him, who he would then kill before the night was over. He was a cruel prince, feared by all, except one. Scheherazade was the daughter of the vizier – and well-read and eloquent. She suggested that she’d be the next virgin to be presented to him, and as her sister was with her, she had told her sister to ask for a tale – which she did. The prince could not help but listen along to the story, and Scheherazade told the story until a few moments before dawn. Realizing that the night was almost over, she told the prince that there was no more time for her to complete the story, but he was hooked. He told her that she could return the next night, to finish the story. That is precisely what she did, and she started a second one, which she could not complete before dawn came, and so the prince pardoned her for another night, asking her to return with the end of her story the following night. This went on like that for a thousand and one nights – and Scheherazade told him a thousand and one stories. By the end of it, he was madly in love with her – and they wed and lived happily ever after.”

Jafar smiled as he listened to that story, rather enjoying it.

“That is a great tale,” he said. “I would very much like to read it.”

Jasmine’s eyes lit up at those words, and as she got up from her chair, she said: “I could go and get it! I’ve got a beautiful copy in my bedroom. It has the most wonderful images you can think of!”

Jafar got up as well.

“I will escort you to your bedroom, if you do not mind,” he proposed kindly. “It’s gotten rather late, and though I do appreciate the company, you should be sleeping.”

Jasmine scrunched her nose as he said that, not liking it when people told her to go to bed – though he was probably right. It was way past midnight now.

As he put on some shoes, Jasmine looked around the room one final time. Though it was ten times as small as hers, it was beautiful still – and she thought it was cozy how he had scrolls laying around everywhere, and how oil lamps were lit on several tables.

“Shall we?” he asked, placing his hand on the small of her back while his other was opened towards the door.

She nodded, figuring that even if she wanted to continue the conversation, it didn’t necessarily mean he wanted the same.

They walked through the corridors in silence, and once they arrived in front of her room, he waited by the door, peeking inside at the soft pink and yellow colors that the walls were decorated in, and when she returned with the big tome, he looked at the beautiful cover before he opened it and looked at some of the images.

“This is incredible craftsmanship,” he said as he admired several of the pages. “I shall enjoy reading this. Thank you.”

As he closed the book in his hands again, Jasmine figured that this was where he would wish her a good night. Not allowing him the time yet to end their conversation, she asked: “Jafar?”

Looking into her eyes, he smiled when he realized that her curiosity wasn’t completely sated yet.

“Princess Jasmine?” he replied, an amused tone in his voice.

She blushed, feeling a little self-conscious. “Did you find it here?”

He frowned. “What?”

“Kai’s wish. Your happiness. Did you find it here?”

He was quiet for a few moments, biting his lip as he considered it.

“You know… I’m not entirely certain,” he admitted. “But I think so. I hope so.” He shot her a reassuring smile. “I mean, people don’t know who I was before this, and as long as that remains this way, I think I have a good shot at true happiness.”

Jasmine was glad to hear it, but it didn’t take long before she frowned again. “Why did you tell me about your past though? If you didn’t want it to ever haunt you again – perhaps it would have been better if you hadn’t told me?”

He chuckled, embracing the book as he held it against his stomach. “Well… you asked me… And… To be honest, I doubt you would have believed a lie. And at least now – if anyone ever does tell you about my past, I hope it won’t be a reason to banish me from Agrabah. I’ve been exiled plenty of times before – and it’s not a fun feeling. I don’t ever want to be exiled again.”

She shot him another sympathetic gaze. “As long as you’re loyal to us and help us, then we will do the same,” she promised. “Our Agrabah can be your home too, as long as your heart stays true to who you were when you were Kai’s Genie.”

He smiled and nodded, agreeing that he hoped it would be enough.

“Thank you, princess,” he said gracefully. “Have a good night.”

“You too,” she replied warmly. “Do let me know what you think of Scheherazade’s tales!” she added eagerly, and he chuckled as he stepped back.

“I will,” he assured her. “Good night!”

Jasmine watched him for a little while as he walked through the long corridor, her questions of before now all answered. But she felt like a million new questions were already forming in her mind.

She could not wait to talk to him again.


	4. Evil Within

Jasmine never told anyone of Jafar’s past. Her father wasn’t as curious about where Jafar came from – in fact, it seemed like he couldn’t care less. And no one else really got close to Jafar or the royal family. With their function came a sort of isolation – and so Jasmine felt like her father and Jafar were the closest people she had in her life.

She was actually happy to call Jafar not just her kingdom’s Vizier, but a friend. Now that she was no longer terrified of him, she opened up to him. He hardly needed to ask her what was on her mind anymore, for she would just tell him whenever they had a moment alone.

“Father wasn’t paying attention at all during this morning’s audience.” “Father should have granted leniency to those fisherman – it wasn’t their fault that a storm wrecked their ship.” “Why doesn’t father allow you or me to visit neighboring kingdoms? Is it not crucial for Agrabah to have good relationships with our neighbors?” “Isn’t it good if more people learn magic, if war is to come? If it’s only you that can protect us against magic, it will be a hard battle!” “We should start thinking of making more friends in this world – if war is coming, like the Dark One said, then we’re sitting ducks.”

Though Jafar admired the princess for all of her ideas, he did feel that it was a shame that she did not speak up during the audiences, and only confided in him during the evenings they spent in the garden or library. Usually she didn’t dare to speak up until after the audiences were over, and in those cases it was always too late for Jafar to adjust his judgement, or for Jasmine to change her father’s mind.

One hot evening, as they were sitting outside by the large fountain while the sun set, Jasmine seemed more dreamy than usual, a note in her hand that had been received from a far-off kingdom that day.

“Their handwriting is so beautiful,” Jasmine sighed, laying down on the stone fountain, holding up the paper above her as she looked at it.

Jafar looked up from his own book, smiling as he saw the princess in such a dreamy mood. He had begun to teach her how to read other languages – and right now she was going through a phase where she was particularly fascinated by the handwriting from all letters that arrived from the Enchanted Forest.

“It’s so curly,” she muttered. “Do you always write back to them in the same way they write?”

Jafar chuckled. “Probably not as curly,” he replied, putting his book down for a moment as he walked over to Jasmine and held out his hand.

Jasmine sat up again and handed him the note, and she watched him as he inspected it, his eyes lingering over the words as he thought.

“King Midas has been reaching out to us a lot,” Jafar remarked. “I saw that he sent a lot of notes even when Hiran was still the vizier. He seems to be throwing a lot of parties.”

“Can’t we go?” Jasmine begged, her eyes big as she looked at him.

“Maybe when you’re a little older,” Jafar decided for her.

She pouted and waited for Jafar to hand the note back to her, and she said: “I hope I’ll be able to leave this palace one day. And not just once I marry – but before that.”

As she sighed, Jafar looked at her again. He had known she had lived a very sheltered life.

“You’ve never been outside?” he asked, assuming that her sheltered life had meant she had rarely ever left the palace – not that she had genuinely _never_ left the palace. “At all? Not even once?”

As she shook her head, he shot her a sympathetic gaze. “I will discuss this with your father,” he promised her, and she beamed happily at those words.

“Really?” she asked.

He nodded. “I promise. But you need to do something too.”

She tilted her head curiously. “What?”

“You need to learn how to speak up during the audiences. For the past months you’ve sat and listened – and I know you have _truly_ listened to the people. But there is hardly a use in having you there if you only wish to discuss the issues at hand once the audiences are over. If you have something to ask the people, ask them. If you have something to tell me, then tell me.”

Jasmine was eager to hear that. “I can do that!” she said happily. “I’ll try and speak up more!”

“Good!”

Though Jafar wanted to turn back to his book, Jasmine interrupted him. “But why?” she wondered. “Why are you allowing me this chance to speak up? Don’t you think your own solutions to the problems are better?”

Jafar shrugged. “They might be. At this point I don’t even know if anyone has different ideas than mine – it always seems like you agree, and your father isn’t a talkative man. And even if my ideas are better, then you should still hone your skills as a decision-maker.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Jasmine admitted. “But part of me still thinks it’s strange that you allow me so much freedom.”

“It’s because you deserve it. And because you need to know that your opinion can be respected, too. I don’t know who you’ll ever wed in your distant future, but if we want to keep Agrabah in good hands, then we need to make sure that your hands can carry this kingdom without any problems, and that your husband has a decent lead to follow.”

She was flattered by those words, and she looked away from him for a moment as she tried not to show how much she was blushing.

“You assume that he’ll follow my lead.”

“I hope he’ll do that. If not, he is going to have one grumpy Grand Vizier to work with.”

She chuckled at his attempt at a joke, but then suddenly bit her lip as she considered something else.

“Usually, when a new Sultan takes the throne, he picks a new Vizier too. That’s why Hiran was as old as my father – he had been by his side since my father had taken the throne. If I wed – and if my father resigns and my husband takes the throne – I’m not sure you can remain Vizier.”

Jafar held still for a few moments, giving that some thought before he gave her an intense look. “Then I’m counting on you to convince your husband to keep me as the Grand Vizier.”

The princess chuckled, amused by his serious tone. “Alright. I’ll do my best.”

“I’m counting on it,” Jafar added in a dead-serious tone, but he did wink at Jasmine before he returned to his book, and she chuckled as she went back to analyzing the handwriting on the note.

 

 

The one-year-anniversary of Jafar as the Royal Vizier wasn’t a celebration.

Though Jasmine had started the day with the idea of congratulating him once the audience was over, it turned out to be a real mood-killer.

A week earlier, there had been a fire in one of the little villages by the coast, and half the town had been destroyed. Jasmine thought that the situation had been under control. According to Jafar’s report, he had healed the injured, and he had cleared the area where the destroyed buildings had been so that the villagers could start anew without going through the trouble of breaking down the dangerous remains of their former homes. A caravan with supplies had been sent their way, and both Jasmine and Jafar had figured that this had been enough to help the village back on its feet.

But that day, several villagers had returned for the audience. Some had been there the week before, others they hadn’t seen yet.

The first people that complained, complained because Jafar had cleared the charred remnants of their homes without checking with them if this was alright. One woman said she had had jewelry in her home, and that she could have used the gold to rebuild her home, but now she had nothing left, not even a rubble to look in. Another man said that his parrot had died in the fire, and that he now had been left without a means to bury his beloved pet. A couple complained that the spot where they had wanted to live before the village had been cleared, was now claimed by the baker, and they thought they had more of a right to it because they had planned to build their new house there long before the baker had.

Even Jasmine was annoyed by how petty these people seemed to be, and she could make little sense of it. She tried to remind the people that they were lucky that they were all still alive, that no one had died, and that they had all they needed to survive and to build a new existence, but she soon regretted saying anything at all.

An old man that wore long white robes ignored her and instead spoke to the Sultan.

“It is clear that the Gods have punished our village for the offense caused by the Palace on a daily basis.”

“Offense?” Jafar had hissed dangerously, but the old man had not cared at all. He kept on looking at the Sultan.

“First you allow magic back into Agrabah – even though it was forbidden by the Gods themselves! And then you let a woman sit and speak to holy men – no wonder that the Gods saw it fit to hurt our village. It was our punishment for not speaking out sooner!”

Jasmine was fuming, and she pressed her lips together as she did not know what to say in this situation. She hoped Jafar had a better reply than her.

But as she looked to her side, it seemed like he was struggling as well, for she had never seen his gaze so deadly.

“My magic doused the fire,” he said in an icy tone. “My magic healed the sick. My magic saved you weeks of work by clearing out the burned down part of the village for you!” The angry undertone in his voice was hard to ignore.

“The Gods will punish our lands the longer you remain here as the Royal Vizier!” The old man did not even look into Jafar’s eyes as he replied to him, but kept looking at the Sultan, who seemed uncomfortable, but at least not as angry as Jasmine and Jafar were.

The old man, apparently some kind of priest, did not stop his address. “For the past eight hundred years, your Vizier has been appointed by the Gods. Each Vizier has been a disciple in the teachings of our Gods. But this Jafar has no respect – he even thinks he is better than the Gods themselves, passing judgement onto people that is usually only reserved for the Gods and their spokesmen!”

Jasmine had seldom felt so infuriated in her life.

Maybe under other circumstances, she could have laughed off the man’s ridiculous arguments, but the villagers behind this man were nodding furiously, agreeing with every word, and Jasmine had never felt as angry – or terrified – in an audience before.

“Your majesty, rumor has it that this Jafar keeps you under a spell so you can no longer see the divine will of our Gods. You must replace him immediately, before Agrabah is doomed. Your people are here to tell you this!”

As the crowd behind the priest started cheering for the old man, Jafar’s grip tightened around his snake staff.

Unable to sit still a moment longer, Jasmine jumped up from her pillow, her small frame tense as she spoke back to the old priest – or whatever he was.

“Jafar has done nothing but great work!” she stood up for him. “He has only listened to people and used his magic for good! He is the only one who can keep Agrabah safe from the wizards and witches of the rest of the world!”

“Yet he is damning us all!” the priest shouted back, riling the people up as he did so. “And you seem to have fallen under his spell as well! But I assume it isn’t very hard to put a spell on someone as weak as a spoiled princess!”

Even the Sultan was too surprised by what was going on to reply, and while he remained seated on his pillow, Jafar had now also jumped up, his snake staff in one hand as he outstretched his other hand towards the priest.

Jasmine gasped as she suddenly saw how the priest was choking, his fingers trying to loosen the grip of an invisible hand around his neck. As she turned towards Jafar, she saw that he was trembling from anger, and the darkness that she had felt all along seemed to be evaporating from him in that moment. As the priest tried to call for help, all that came from his throat was a gurgling noise. The people that had been riled up before suddenly stepped back in fear, entirely quiet as the priest got lifted off the floor and hung in the air, his face turning nearly purple as more seconds passed.

Jasmine gulped, feeling helpless for a moment, until she realized that she wasn’t. Not really.

She rushed over to Jafar and put her hand on his arm, and almost immediately Jafar startled, and his grip on the man dropped – causing the priest to fall to the floor, entangled in his own robes.

No one dared to aid the old man now, and though Jafar’s anger seemed to be under control for now, it was far from gone. He stepped down the stairs and walked towards the man, circling around him with his golden staff in hand, his gaze vile as he looked down upon the man.

“My magic was not a gift from the Gods,” Jafar said coldly. “Nor was it a curse. And when I use magic, it is not a blessing – or a curse. It is a sign of my good will – or my bad will, as you just experienced first-hand.”

The priest wasn’t sure what to say, and remained quiet on the floor, his hands trembling now.

“If you don’t want my help, then say the word. I will unheal those who had burns. I will put the burned down houses back where they were. And I will light your houses once more, since you were all doing just fine dousing the fire before I arrived.”

No one in the room spoke up, and Jasmine held her breath.

“I can do all that – all you need to do is say the word. Let your Gods save you then. Or perhaps, if you want to prove yourself immune to religious zealots, you will now leave this room, go back to your homes, and be grateful for the aid we gave you. But by all means, if you do wish for my aid to go to waste, speak up now.”

There was nothing but the sound of shuffling of feet as people left, until eventually only the priest was left, who crawled up and then left as fast as he could when he was alone in the presence of Jafar, who was still glaring down at him.

Jafar was left standing in the middle of the large room, trembling in anger while Jasmine now nearly had tears in her eyes. The Sultan was quiet as he sat on his pillow, thinking, but remaining very quiet.

Jafar didn’t look at either of them when he suddenly disappeared in a whirl of red smoke, and Jasmine felt her heart pound in her throat. While she didn’t know where he had gone, she worried for the well-being of the villagers.

Hoping that she was wrong about Jafar, she headed in the direction of the one place where a normal person would go to in a rage – their room.

 

 

 

When she arrived five minutes later, she was a little out of breath, and as she threw open the door, she felt a rush of relief when she saw him stand by his desk, frantically gathering small bottles from one of his racks, and she frowned as she beheld him.

“Jafar?” she called out for him, stepping closer to him. “Are you alright?”

His breathing was heavy, as though he was still battling against an overdose of adrenaline inside. He looked like he wanted to hurt someone, but luckily for her, she was not the person his anger was directed towards.

As he took a vial with red powder, he immediately turned to Jasmine, looking into her eyes with an intense gaze.

“Promise to keep this on you, princess. Promise to use this, for protection.”

Utterly confused, she frowned. “What?” As she took the vial from his hand, she looked at the red sand within, not sure what it was.

“If you are ever in danger – if one of these zealots return to harm you – use it on them. It will turn them into dust, so they can’t hurt you.”

Hearing what it would do, Jasmine’s eyes grew wide, and she immediately put down the bottle on his desk again, not wanting to touch it.

“I couldn’t!” she insisted, and at those words, Jafar grabbed both her hands.

“You must!” he urged her. “These people are more dangerous than I had ever anticipated. Their blind fanaticism with their Gods will only increase as time goes by. They will not approve of anything I decide, because I use magic – or of anything you decide, because you’re a woman. We must respond to their harshness in an equal way – in a way they understand. This is not a battle we can win with words.”

Jasmine shook her head urgently. “Jafar, this is not a battle! We are not fighting our own people!”

“They do not care about your well-being like you do about theirs!” he insisted. “We must remain one step ahead of them.”

She felt helpless again, and as tears stood in her eyes, she continued to shake her head. “We can’t. We mustn’t. We must be wise rulers – and good rulers – even if they think we’re pure evil. We must stand above them – not by their side. Let’s not lower ourselves to their level, please!”

She was glad to see that those words had some sort of impact on him, for he had begun to frown as he looked at his vials and potions.

As she put her hand on his, she whispered: “We are _better_ than them, Jafar. We must not let them affect us. We must rise above it.”

Looking into her eyes, he remained quiet for a long while, but he was looking at her like he needed her strength and her own faith in those words before he could believe them himself.

What he saw in her eyes was nothing but care and affection, and his anger slowly ebbed away again.

He nodded, and Jasmine smiled bravely.

“We must think of our happiness,” she concluded. “We must lead by example. Make sure that these stupid people are the last stupid people in this kingdom. We must educate them – teach them about magic in a way that doesn’t paint magic as pure evil, but as a source of power that can be used for good.”

He sighed deeply as he closed his eyes, shaking his head.

“I didn’t do well in demonstrating how it could be used for good,” he admitted. “I nearly killed that man.”

“Well…” Jasmine wasn’t certain how to cheer him up about that. “He almost deserved it… But like I said… We must be better. Just because they want to hurt us, does not mean we should hurt them back. We must show that our skin is thicker than that.”

Jafar smiled as he listened to her words, and as she found it strange that he was now smiling, she was confused.

“What is it?” she asked, wondering why he looked so kind again all of a sudden.

“You’re really good at this,” he admitted, and Jasmine blushed. “Now if only you could calm your people down as well as you calm the evil in me…”

She smiled warmly, happy with his compliment. “Well… I got a good friend to practice on.”

She took the little vial from the table again, and put it back among the other vials in his rack.

“Let’s hope we’ll never need this,” she said darkly, and he nodded in agreement.

“That would be great. But I’m afraid we can never be too cautious. We should not lower our defenses. And we need to talk with your father. Perhaps it is time that we encourage him to make more of an effort during the audiences. If he speaks up more, then it won’t seem like a sorcerer and a woman are ruling the kingdom, but a Sultan.”

Jasmine nodded. “Wise. Let’s go talk to my father.”


	5. Magic Carpet Ride

As months went by, the unrest in Agrabah grew. While the majority of the people were still happy and lived good lives, the number of religious zealots seemed to grow, and they spread a fear of magic that was hard to control from within the palace.

It did not help one bit either that stories about the Evil Queen were reaching Agrabah. Apparently she had been stealing many hearts around the Enchanted Forest, and now people in the streets were saying that Jafar was capable of the same magic, and that he had taken the heart of the Sultan and the princess and was controlling them like thus.

They also attributed the fact that the princess was not married yet to Jafar’s influence, saying that he could not risk a foreign prince learning of his own mind control over the royal family, and that this was the only reason why Jasmine was not wed off yet.

Jafar was the first to learn of these rumors, during one of his visits in the city, and he did not know how to tell the princess – or if he should even tell her at all. She had kept him in check with her kindness and optimism, but sometimes Jafar felt so tired from all the opposition. He could kill these men in the blink of an eye, but he was no longer allowed such things.

During the past months, he had learned to respect Jasmine’s opinion more than anyone else’s. Sometimes she reminded him of Kai. Other times, she was completely her own creature – magnificent in everything she did. A natural when it came to leading and philosophy. He had never known anyone who was able to put themselves into another person’s place so easily. She was even able to empathize with him, and this was perhaps the most surprising thing of all.

“Well? Did you ask my father?”

She had been asking him for weeks – and she was rather impatient as she sat down on top of the empty corner of his working desk. The corner hadn’t been empty before, but she now held the scroll in her hand, frowning as she looked at the report that the captain of the royal guard had turned in.

He rolled his eyes as he snapped the scroll from her hands and sat down in his chair, looking up at her.

“His answer has remained the same, Jasmine. He says that it’s completely normal for an heir to the throne to remain in the palace until they come of age or are wed off.”

Jasmine looked at him with pleading eyes. “Aw, come on, Jafar… Agrabah’s legal age of adulthood is twenty-one, and I’m not even eighteen. Am I really supposed to lead the people when I haven’t even been out in the street a single day of my life? I don’t even know what it’s like out there. All I know is what I’ve read in mostly fictional books and what I hear during the audiences and see from my balcony!”

Jafar shrugged. “I think you have a better understanding of how the world turns than many people who have travelled all over it. You aren’t missing that much.”

Jasmine moaned. “Please, Jafar… I’ve never seen the ocean. I’ve never even seen an oasis – or a forest! All I know are the royal gardens and the palace. Sometimes when I think about that, I just cry myself to sleep. I want to see an elephant – or a tiger – or at least some animal that is not being held captive against its will, like me! This palace isn’t big enough. There is so much out there that I don’t know yet!”

He understood her plight, and looked at her with a kind gaze. “I wish I could take you along, princess, but the Sultan has forbidden it. I can’t disobey his orders.”

“Which is why I have asked you to convince him that it is a good thing if I am allowed to leave before I’m twenty-one! I’m not asking you to disobey his order. I’m asking you to change his mind! To find a reason for me to leave – if only for a few hours!”

Jafar sighed, but still shook his head. “I have asked, princess. But he won’t budge. He says it’s normal that the heir to the throne does not leave the palace until he or she is of age. Your father has never travelled further than the underground keep where we’re holding the Gem of Life – not even in his own adult life. He’s never even been to the Enchanted Forest, or the Empire, or Arandelle or Camelot! He has hardly even seen all of Agrabah.”

Jasmine moaned again, rubbing her hands through her face.

“Please, Jafar…” she begged in a whiny voice. “That’s my point precisely! I don’t want to turn out like my father. You have to convince him to let me go. It’s not healthy to stay here all the time.”

Jafar had tried a dozen times already, but there was no reasoning with the Sultan, not when it came to the way he had chosen to raise his daughter.

“You won’t turn out like him,” he assured her with a small smile. “You’re already too different to ever turn into him. But I do promise you that I’ll talk to him for you. Again.”

She beamed happily at those words, but he knew it was unlikely that it would go the way the princess wanted.

 

 

And as promised, he did ask about it – and like before, the Sultan did not change his mind. Jafar found it frustrating how the Sultan was easy-going about everything else, but not regarding these stupid rules for his daughter.

When Jasmine heard that once more, Jafar had been unable to convince her father, she added: “But isn’t it important that we get allies if there is a war to come? We can’t get allies if we sit here in Agrabah and don’t make friends in the rest of the world. Am I not meant to go to these balls that all other princesses get invited to as well? I could very well meet a prince there, isn’t that what he wants?”

Once more, she managed to convince him to speak on behalf of her to her father, but once more the Sultan denied him. “She is not to set foot outside this palace until she is a proper adult!”

And so the Sultan once more decided that the princess would not leave the castle until she was of a legal age.

Seeing how desperate the princess was becoming, and how she was so bored of her own palace life and curious about everything that happened beyond the palace walls, Jafar didn’t look forward to breaking her heart again as he told her that her father had declined her request. But he was honest with her, and she did not hold it against him, but thanked him for trying before she walked away again, her shoulders slumped as she sighed deeply, looking unhappier than ever before.

When the princess turned eighteen a few months later, the Sultan gave her expensive jewelry and beautiful new clothes, decorated with the finest gems, but Jasmine didn’t seem particularly happy. She had asked her father for a pet, or a ball for other royals, or for a day outside of the Palace walls, and all she’d been given were stupid jewels and clothes she couldn’t show off to anyone. Luckily for her, Jafar knew what she truly wanted.

As he lay in bed that evening, he did remember the Sultan’s words of several months before.

_“She is not to set foot outside this palace…”_

As realization dawned on him, he grinned, and the next thing he knew, he was on his flying carpet, heading to the princess’s room.

He could see through the curtains in front of her window that there was still plenty of light in there, and as he coughed, it didn’t take long for those curtains to open and the princess to appear. As she saw the flying carpet hover in front of her balcony, with Jafar looking down at her, she frowned.

“Jafar?” she whispered, trying not to draw the attention of any of the guards if there were any in the gardens below her room.

He smiled and extended his hand to her, and as her eyes grew wide, he admitted: “I hadn’t given you a birthday present yet.”

Realizing that he wanted to take her for a ride, she grinned widely, and she immediately put her hand in his and allowed him to pull her up onto the carpet.

Though he had been standing before, he now knelt down, and Jasmine followed his example.

“Hold on,” he whispered, and Jasmine grinned widely as the carpet suddenly flew off – the speed surprising her a bit, and she immediately clung to his arm.

He had not necessarily meant for her to grab hold of him, but he wasn’t going to complain now that she had grabbed his sleeve in surprise.

She looked behind her as they left the palace behind, the carpet flying higher and higher with every second, and once she realized that they had crossed the palace walls beneath them, she leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing happily.

Jafar startled at first, but then smiled as he realized that she was just leaning into him. He was glad to have made her happy for now, and he added: “Technically, in my Agrabah, people were of age when they turned eighteen. And I promised your father you would not set foot outside of the palace... So please don’t put your foot down on anything.”

She chuckled, then grew more serious as she looked up at him.

“Thank you so much, Jafar,” she said sincerely. “You’re the best friend a princess could wish for.”

He was moved by those words, and he felt his stomach squeeze together in an unfamiliar, but not unpleasant way as he looked at her, and he quickly looked away from her again.

“I thought I could show you the ocean?” he proposed, his voice a little softer than usual, and from the corner of his eye he could see how she nodded eagerly.

“That would be amazing!”

As the carpet flew over the desert, it flew lower again, and as Jasmine looked all around her in the moonlight, she was surprised by how far the desert seemed to reach. When they saw palm trees in the distance, she pointed towards them, even if Jafar had already spotted them moments before she had.

“Is that where the ocean is?” she wondered, and as Jafar remained quiet, she figured that he was trying to build some suspense for her, and she grinned widely when the carpet flew higher again and she saw the ocean on the horizon.

She could not stop grinning as they flew closer to the water, and once they reached the coast line, the carpet flew lower again, until they were only an arm’s length above the ocean, the waves reaching close enough to touch.

As Jasmine moved to lay on her stomach, she reached out for the water, feeling how cold it felt against her fingers while they kept on flying until there was nothing in sight but the ocean itself, and the moon and stars above it.

Sitting up again, she looked at Jafar, seeing how he was pleased that she was happy.

“It had been a while since you last smiled,” he remarked, and as she realized that this was true, she suddenly moved closer to him and embraced him tightly.

He could not remember being on the receiving end of such a hug ever before in his lifetime. The way she tried to squeeze him against her took his breath away, and he closed his eyes as he hugged her back.

They both didn’t let go for a very long time, enjoying the sensation of such an intimate hug far too much to deny themselves the pleasure. Jasmine had lived an even more isolated life than Jafar, and though she had given her father hugs before, they had never been quite as long or emotional to her.

When they finally let go, Jasmine cast her eyes down.

“I fear we should head back,” Jafar said softly, and though she wasn’t happy with that, she nodded, understanding that they couldn’t keep on exploring the world for much longer than this.

She enjoyed the sight of the ocean all around her, trying to memorize every single thing about this experience – the sounds of the waves, the smell, the feeling of saltwater on her fingertips.

She noticed that they flew back a little differently than they had come, for she suddenly saw the desert change into a grassier area, until she could actually see fields in various colors beneath her.

Unsure what she witnessed, she turned to Jafar.

“This is all the power of the Gem of Life,” he explained to her. “These fields would not be here without the Gem of Life’s power to make land fertile.”

Jasmine saw the houses of the farmers on the edge of the farmland, and was glad that everyone was asleep and no one could see how they were disobeying her father’s orders.

It didn’t take them too long to reach Agrabah after that, and as the carpet flew down onto her balcony once more, Jasmine crawled off, only realizing once she had done that that she would not get to hug Jafar goodnight.

“Thank you,” she whispered, once more trying not to make too much noise. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to realize she’d been gone.

“No thanks,” he whispered in return, winking at her before the carpet flew off again, back to his room.

Jasmine watched him until he disappeared in his own tower window, feeling both grateful and lightheaded at the same time. She twirled around in happiness before she headed back into her room, knowing that it would take a little while before she would be able to fall asleep.


	6. Crush

Jafar had never thought highly of the Sultan’s intelligence. The man’s powers of observation always seemed to be lacking, and though he was kind-hearted, he was easy to fool.

Jafar never tried to fool him, even if in his past, he would have gotten a massive kick out of that. As the Royal Vizier, it was something he tried not to do. He told himself that he was better than that now, and that such a thing would only come back to haunt him later on. But a few weeks after Jasmine’s birthday, he made an exception to his rule, though it wasn’t planned in advance.

As Jafar and the Sultan were sitting around the breakfast table, discussing their trade agreements with the Empire, Jasmine walked in, a smile on her face as she greeted the two men and took a peach from one of the bowls on the table. She hummed a lovely tune as she left the room again, swaying her hips as she did so, and both Jafar and the Sultan were momentarily distracted by it.

Jasmine had been in a wonderful mood after the carpet ride – she had never seemed happier since Jafar had become the Vizier, and it pleased him that his gift had lifted her spirits in such a way. Each morning, she had hummed, and when her father had been present, she had usually given him a peck on the cheek, when he had been absent, she had sweetly touched Jafar’s shoulder, before she had dreamily continued on with her day. Jafar thought it was endearing how she was still enjoying the memories of their short carpet ride together.

To the Sultan, however, his daughter’s behavior was harder to explain.

While Jafar took a sip from his cup of tea, the Sultan whispered: “She’s in love!”

The vizier nearly spat out his tea at those words, and quickly took a napkin to clean himself up, coughing and frowning as he looked at the Sultan.

“Excuse me?” he asked, his cheeks burning up at the idea alone. He wondered for a brief moment if the Sultan could be right. Had his gift won affections the princess should not bestow upon him? Certainly this could not be true?

“She’s constantly singing and humming,” the Sultan told Jafar secretively. “This is just like her mother – she was also the humming type whenever she felt in love.”

Jafar frowned for a long while. What did the Sultan mean by that? Had his wife fallen in love with many men then? Or was that just how she had been when she had been in love with this tiny fool of a Sultan?

“Are you sure?” he asked, putting that thought of the Sultan’s love life behind him and wondering for a moment if he had spotted any other marks of love in Jasmine. Could she truly be in love? With _him_? Who else could it be? There was no one else around that the princess really spoke to. And surely, he too knew that there was a warm bond between them – but _love_? _Romantic_ love? He forbade himself to even consider it.

He had to be ancient in her eyes. And it probably wasn’t even love that the princess felt, she was just still exhilarated about leaving the palace. The Sultan surely had misinterpreted it, and then again, that was logical, for the old man did not know Jasmine had gone on a magic carpet ride.

The Sultan nodded solemnly. “Must be. Didn’t we hire new servants a month ago? A few for the kitchens and a few others for the general maintenance of the palace? It must be one of those young men.”

As Jafar considered it, he frowned. He couldn’t imagine Jasmine to have fallen for any of them – it probably wasn’t that. She didn’t speak to the servants. Jasmine was so cheerful because he had taken her outside of the palace and she had been granted one of her deepest wishes. It had to be that.

“Should we fire them and hire new ones?” the Sultan asked Jafar, and for a moment Jafar was insulted on Jasmine’s behalf.

“No,” Jafar said immediately, shaking his head. “They have not disappointed us yet, and it wouldn’t be fair to them or their families. Loyal help is hard to find.” Considering it for a few moments, he suddenly suggested: “Besides, we should test this theory first – it might not be the new servants after all.”

“How do you propose we test it?” the Sultan wondered curiously, and Jafar tried not to grin as an idea came to his mind.

If the Sultan took the bait, then he’d get to realize another one of the princess’s wishes.

“We take her away from the servants’ presence.”

“How?” the Sultan wondered curiously, and Jafar was glad to hear that question.

“Well, we have a good excuse to get her out of the palace! I received an invitation from King Midas from the Enchanted Forest – for a ball. If I take the princess there, I’m certain that I’ll notice if she’s sad for leaving the object of her affection, and at the same time a ball is the perfect cure to heartache. She’ll meet so many new men – _proper_ noblemen – that her mind will stop lingering on whatever servant has stolen her heart.”

The Sultan remained quiet for a few moments, thinking deeply, but Jafar realized that this was the first time that the Sultan had even _considered_ letting Jasmine leave the royal palace, and that was a victory in itself.

Suddenly the Sultan nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. I’d rather have waited until she was a bit older, but I suppose with eighteen she isn’t a complete child anymore, and I hear that in the Enchanted Forest women as young as sixteen go to these balls. And we have been ignoring King Midas’s kindness for too long. You will accompany her? Make sure she’s safe?”

Jafar nodded quickly, trying not to grin too widely, and he looked as solemn as he could despite the triumph he felt. “Of course. And with use of my magic, I could whisk to your side in an instant if you would require my assistance.”

The Sultan agreed that this was a good idea, and as Jafar asked if he could break the news to the princess, he was glad that the Sultan allowed him to do just that.

When a few hours later, he visited the princess in her room and told her just where she’d be going the following week, she shrieked and jumped up and down before she hugged him tightly, unable to stop moving as the excitement within her nearly caused her to burst.

“Promise me one thing,” Jafar said in a stern voice, and at this Jasmine realized how serious he sounded, and she immediately nodded. “Try to look a little depressed about leaving. The only reason why your father allows you to go, is because your constant singing gave him the impression you’re in love, and he is convinced it must have been because of one of the new servants. I did not deny that thought in your father’s mind because I knew it would help in convincing him to let you leave for a change. I’d say it’s pretty safe if you make him belief that his hunch was the truth – so don’t hum too much – don’t smile too much – and just be polite and grateful to your father, but not as exuberantly happy as you are now to me. If you seem hesitant about leaving to your father, he’ll feel like his theory was right and he’ll feel better about your leaving.”

Jasmine had a twinkle in her eye as she heard that, and grinned wickedly.

“Of course,” she promised. “I’ll stop singing and I’ll be calm and slightly sad about it whenever I see father. But can I still be happy now?”

“Of course,” he replied with a smile, and he chuckled as the princess immediately did another happy dance.

**Author's Note:**

> I like to change my end notes every now and then. At the time of writing, the 11th of December, I'm increasingly anxious about the new Star Wars movie coming out! And I'm also in quite the festive spirit, with Christmas fast approaching!
> 
> The chapter of today is rather short, but I do hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to check out the Jasfar tag on Tumblr. I try to upload some new drawings and graphics every now and then. Also a massive shout-out to moonlight, who has been making little artsies here and there as well, and I truly appreciate it! 
> 
> Jasfar is a tiny ship, and if you're still reading at this point, then I guess you're on board! So don't be shy, say hi! :D


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